


Bend the Knee

by Hanatamago



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Facials, Hair Pulling, Inexperienced Asterius, M/M, Oral Sex, PWP, Theseus just wants to be degraded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:28:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26884408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanatamago/pseuds/Hanatamago
Summary: After another defeat at the hands of the wicked fiend Zagreus, Theseus ponders taking his advice (which he likely parroted from a far superior, un-daemonic hero) and spending his eternity with Asterius doing things more enjoyable than taking his Infernal Weapons to the heart.Theseus has some ideas.
Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur/Theseus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 752





	Bend the Knee

“That foul daemon!” Theseus groaned, limping into the arena barracks, “Of course Dionysus would favor him, if only to spite me personally!”

The short one had done a number on the both of them. He always went for Asterius first, slashing at his unguarded bulk as Theseus sent spear after spear piercing straight into his heart. And yet, no matter how many hits the champion landed, the short one seemed to defy death time and time again. Like clockwork, Asterius would fall first, and then he would turn his blade on Theseus.

Asterius knew little of how the battle fared after he fell, only that Theseus had clearly not succeeded. Elysium’s healing magic had already begun to kick in and restore his wounds, but Theseus was still recovering. Though his skin looked whole and even, Asterius noticed his form flickering where it was still mending from the thick spikes of Aegis that had pierced into his abdomen.

He helped Theseus into the torchlit chambers. Asterius slung an arm around his waist, gingerly avoiding his tenderest wounds. He grunted a simple word of thanks and let Asterius support his weight as they lumbered into the room. All manner of master-forged weapons and armor hung from the slate walls of the barracks. The left side of the room was devoted to Asterius’ favored axes and gauntlets, and the right to Theseus’ collections of polearms, shields, and strange contraptions designed by Daedelus himself.

Stone benches along the sides of the barracks offered a temporary haven for their aching legs. Tables in the back held vials of mineral oil neatly stacked whetstones - the shades guarding the arena had offered to take care of such trivial maintenance on more than one occasion, but Theseus was very particular about his weaponry.

“Your fighting was immaculate, king,” Asterius said. “It was only by Artemis’ hand that he pierced your shield.”

“Artemis, Dionysus…” Theseus sighed, “That vile fiend dares saunter into Elysium to spread his wickedness, and the gods _bless_ him for it! All the while claiming I, too, am in their favor? Tell me, Asterius, after all this time, what have I done to invoke their ire?

“Perhaps they only mean to challenge you. The short one is strong, blessings aside. Now that I am no longer your rival, they may have seen fit to grant you a new trial to conquer.”

“Perhaps...” Theseus placed his bloodied spear on the table and began to wipe it clean. Rough cotton brushed along its edge, revealing inch after inch of its rosy, crystalline blade. Asterius grabbed another cloth and began to see to his axe.

The moments passed in relative silence. Not silence exactly, but with Theseus carrying on with stories of the heroes he met in Elysium, and all the ways he had bested them (mainly at card games - most heroes in Elysium had long left their bloodlust behind). In truth, Asterius didn’t mind in the slightest. To others, his constant boastful chatter might have been grating, but to Asterius, his ambient loudness was comforting in its own way.

So long had he been confined to silence and darkness - first on earth, then in the pits of Erebus. Pain, hunger, and confusion were all he had ever known - certainly nothing so bright as companionship. For all his flaws, Theseus understood that about him. He understood that Asterius’ silence was not boredom, nor displeasure, but his natural state of being. He understood why Asterius used to shy away from his hand, despite it only being offered in peace. He understood that Asterius had not been even half a man, then. But now, he was learning.

“Asterius,” his voice pierced the directionless river of thoughts rambling through Asterius’ mind. “I must begrudgingly confess that the daemon has seeded some thoughts in my mind of late.”

Asterius turned to face him, cocking an eyebrow. “He cannot take away your honor. No matter his strength, you are still a champion.”

“Of course not,” Theseus laughed heartily. “No, something different… Something strange that the blackguard said the other week...” He set aside his polished spear and rose from the table. 

Theseus stepped towards him, closing the distance between them until their chests were but a breath apart. His sky-blue eyes flashed with a daring intensity, just as that always would when the short one came to challenge them. No… A touch softer than that.

“And what is that?” 

“Though he may be utterly wrong on all other accounts,” Theseus dropped to his knees, gazing up at Asterius, “it is true that there are other ways we might use the eternity that has been given to us,” he murmured, “Ways other than violence - I mean to say. If you are willing?”

“My king…” Asterius rumbled. To anyone else, the breathy shift in his tone might go unnoticed. But not to him - not to Theseus. He toyed with the buckle of Asterius’s weighty golden belt and placed a chaste kiss on the minotaur’s abdomen. Asterius shuddered and braced himself against the wall.

“May I?”

“You… you should not debase yourself…” Asterius muttered, mind muddled by the insinuation. “It is you who conquered me… I must not - It is _I_ who serve you.” And yet, the thought of Theseus - the _sight_ of him kneeling-

Staunch as his refusals may be, his interest was _quite_ obvious.

“Why, seeing to your pleasure is hardly a debasement!” Theseus laughed.

“But your honor-”

“Asterius,” Theseus cut in, firm but gentle. “If we are to speak of honor, then know that nothing would bring me more honor than this. For you alone, my steadfast companion. You have earned it - countless times over, I dare say.” Asterius snorted softly, as reluctant to agree as he was plainly aroused.

“I shall not command you,” Theseus murmured, “but if it bothers you to think of this as my service, then know that I may also derive a…” he swallowed thickly, “a certain pleasure from this.” 

“If it is your wish, king,” Asterius gave a small nod and lowered himself onto the stone bench.

To anyone else, his flustering might have gone unnoticed. Without an obvious tremble in his hands or color on his cheek, he might pass for aloof to the untrained eye, but Theseus knew better. He knew by the tension in Asterius’ chest and the flutter in his breath. He knew by Asterius’ stunned silence and the fist tightening at his side. He knew because, despite all appearances, Theseus was observant, at least when it came to his companion.

Theseus grinned, cunning as a fox and twice as dangerous. Indeed, he knew.

“I think, given the circumstances, perhaps you might address me as mere Theseus? Perhaps, at least for the moment, I might be worthy of serving you, my champion.”

“I shall not presume to-”

“Please,” Theseus licked his lips, “ _presume_.”

“As you wish,” he snorted. “Undress, Theseus. Quickly.”

The rumbling order fell from his tongue too naturally. Too comfortably. Not because Asterius fell naturally into such a commanding stance - gods, he did not - but because the haze of his arousal clouded any logical thought to begin with. Theseus rushed to stand and comply, stripping off his chiton with a bright smirk. Yet for all his bluster, Asterius noticed a faint flush of pink shining in his bronze cheeks.

“Well,” he laughed, “doubtless you are pleased with my offering?”

“I am.” Asterius breathed, reaching for the buckle of his belt-

“Allow me,” Theseus knelt before him, bare, blushing, and sinfully eager. Asterius let his hand fall aside as Theseus worked at the golden clasps at his hip. His belt fell away first, then his armored skirt, then his dignity.

Yes. His dignity crumbled entirely the second that Theseus laid eyes upon him.

“My,” Theseus whispered, “I knew you were blessed, my friend, but even I…” He wrapped a hand around Asterius’s thick, hardening cock, failing to close his fingers around the beast. “Gods, had I a glimpse of this in the labyrinth… Well, I imagine you would have reigned victorious.”

“Blessed is hardly the word,” Asterius snorted. He was a cursed soul in the bowels of Crete, then a damned soul in the fields of flame. A monster of the gods’ making and doubly so by his father’s hand.

“So you say.” Theseus pressed a kiss to the tip of his cock, bright cerulean eyes grounding Asterius even as his hips twitched and his breaths became shallow. “Then perhaps it is I who have been blessed by the gods today.”

“King-”

“ _Theseus_ , please,” he insisted, “I must beg of you, tonight, let me be beneath you.” Impossible, Asterius thought. Not in the most improbable depths of Chaos could Theseus be _beneath_ him. But equals… Perhaps Asterius could try for such a facade if it pleased him so.

“Theseus,” he murmured, shuddering as the hero greedily licked messy stripes along his shaft. “Theseus…” Asterius moaned once more.

“Hold fast, Asterius,” he chuckled, “I haven’t even _begun_ to overwhelm you.”

Theseus slid his lance-calloused hands onto Asterius’s thighs, bracing himself as he took Asterius into his mouth in earnest. The feeling of such pleasure was… foreign, to say the very least. In all his many years in the eternal pits of damnation, he had only ever known searing hellfire and the angry lash of thorned iron whips. 

But Theseus… Theseus offered him many new sensations. Pride, purpose, and now pleasure… Now, his radiant king lay before him, kneeling to take Asterius’s cock in the tight, plush velvet of his mouth - what little he could fit. His spit-slick lips stretched around his girth, struggling to take him more than halfway. Every inch that he managed to reach throbbed with a newly awakened desire, drawing helpless shudders from the minotaur. He had never dreamt of anything so divine - never understood Theseus’ monologues about revelry - about all the men and women he had bedded, but now... 

“Ha,” Theseus panted, pulling off with a cough, “You just wait until I perfect my technique! Ah - if you don’t mind helping me practice, of course.”

“If I may be of assistance,” Asterius nodded. However unaffected he had tried to sound, Theseus saw plainly through his facade.

“Come now, there is no need to be silent. It is only the two of us now. I would hear you, Asterius.”

“The shades-” he muttered, choking as Theseus suddenly plunged back onto his cock, redoubling his efforts. Clever. “They mill about aimlessly. If one were to see you, my-” Asterius groaned and balled his hand into a fist, “Theseus…”

“Let them see,” he said, voice a low rasp as he pulled back to wipe away the saliva pooling on his chin. Theseus stroked him gently, shifting his attention to Asterius’ muscular, scar-streaked thighs. He kissed among a silvery patch of tissue - a scar from his days in Greece, before the underworld’s magic saw to every one of their new wounds.

And then, Theseus ventured further, kissing the tender underside of his cock, then further still to tongue at his balls. Asterius trembled, indeed overwhelmed, as Theseus had mightily declared.

“Gods almighty, Theseus - _fuck_ ,” Asterius moaned, overcome with the sheer reverence of Theseus’ touch. He worshipped Asterius as though he were a god himself, not a wretched half-human monstrosity. Asterius leaned back against the wall, easing into the teasing flames of pleasure Theseus licked along his cock.

“Yes… Gods, shades, even that bratty little daemon himself,” Theseus hummed, “Let them see me, and see the truth of things - that I would gladly kneel before you, my dearest companion.”

It all became too much - his tongue, his fingers, his damned _words_ spilling from his lewd, reddened lips. Asterius tangled his fingers into Theseus’s hair and roughly pulled him up, shoving his cock into the devastating heat of his mouth. The hero king complied readily - eagerly moaning around his length, sending delightful vibrations dancing through his tight abdomen. Only when Theseus began to sputter and gag did Asterius release his hold. Icy shame sunk to the pit of his stomach, fighting against his searing arousal.

Asterius gasped, “I apologize-”

“No!” Theseus groaned, flushed and teary-eyed. “Please do not apologize. Please… if you would, er, continue?” He steadied himself against Asterius’ calf, catching his breath.

“Continue…?”

“Ah… Your hand,” he stammered, uncharacteristically shy. 

“What of it?”

“Would you consider returning it to my hair? And perhaps… pulling me any which way you desire?” 

Ah, well, not that shy.

“You... enjoyed that?” Asterius asked, “Surely…”

Asterius glanced down at Theseus, finally laying eyes upon his flushed, dripping cock. Not once had Theseus’s motions lapsed for him to touch himself. Not once had Asterius done anything for his pleasure, and yet, clear as the eternal twilight, Theseus was rock hard. More than that, he was nearly teetering on the edge of release - all from the mere act of servicing Asterius. _Gods..._.

“Terribly so.” Theseus swallowed, cheeks flushed bright scarlet.

 _Styx_ \- it would only be fair to reciprocate. If Theseus asked this of him, then he must comply. Asterius nodded, silently praying his resolve would not crumble.

Asterius let his fist sink into the soft waves of damp, sunny-blond hair. His instincts had overwhelmed him before, but this time, he would control his strength, only tugging so much as Theseus found pleasurable. It felt odd to pull him about. Odd, but not terrible. Asterius tightened his grip, entranced by how Theseus moaned beneath him, rutting uselessly against thin air.

Gods, the sight was nearly as intoxicating as the potent vapors from boons of Dionysus. For such a proud champion to fold in the palm of his hand - perhaps it was more than Asterius deserved. But to hold Theseus so intimately - to control Theseus’ pleasure with his strength… Yes, Asterius could indulge him in this, and gladly.

He tugged Theseus back to his cock, gentler than before. With a renewed zeal, he redoubled his efforts on Asterius’s flushed cock. Theseus moaned happily around his length, as though sucking Asterius down was enough to bring himself to climax. Perhaps it was.

“That’s it,” Asterius groaned, cursing as the words spurred Theseus to try taking him even deeper.

His fist clenched around the golden strands in his palm. Blinding pleasure began to tangle in his gut, building into a wave that would undoubtedly wreck any flimsy restraint he still clung to.

“Pleasure yourself, Theseus,” he commanded. He had not meant to - certainly not - but Theseus rewarded him with a delightful, full-bodied shudder as he let a hand fall to his own cock. His technique became sloppier. Heated, yet uncoordinated as his own pleasure drew a thick veil of lust over his eyes. Yet his enthusiasm only brightened. Theseus bobbed on his cock, hot tongue swirling around his length as though his very honor depended on it.

Gods, he could not last. Not with Theseus’ soft lips around his cock, not with Theseus stroking himself so desperately, not with the torchlight catching his flushed bronze cheeks and shiny blue eyes. His pleasure - undeserved, and yet, Theseus had knelt before him and _insisted_.

Asterius hit his climax without warning. He could not have known - he had no measure of the bounds of one’s pleasure. He moaned some unintelligible, mangled version of Theseus’ name as though it were a prayer to the gods. No - a prayer to _Theseus_ , whose blessed mouth had unraveled him. He curled his fist in Theseus’s hair, clumsily pulling Theseus off of his cock as bliss flooded his battered senses.

The haze of bliss soon faded from his eyes, leaving but a pleasant buzz in his muscles and a warmth in his chest. Stars, he had meant to save Theseus the dignity of swallowing his seed, but… As he gazed down to the hero kneeling before him, he saw the truth of things. Thick ropes of come stained Theseus’ cheeks and dribbled down his chin. Theseus greedily licked at the corners of his mouth, panting as he stroked himself quicker.

Fuck… A pang of arousal struck his spent cock, mourning that he had nothing left to give. Theseus moaned as Asterius cradled his jaw, hypnotized. He thumbed through the seed on his cheeks and pushed it right to Theseus’ lips. 

He liked it - gods, Theseus _loved_ it. He came with a muffled cry, spilling over his own fist as he let Asterius’ thumb push between his lips.

Theseus looked wrecked. Positively debauched. Taken apart by throwing himself to his knees before Asterius. Proud, grandiose Theseus… It would have been unthinkable had Asterius not watched him - had he not held Theseus’s hair in his fist as he came.

The veil would drop soon enough, Asterius knew. Theseus’ cloak of lust would begin to unravel, and he would be utterly disgusted with himself. He would see the way Asterius had taken advantage of him, and their years of peace would crumble. Theseus would think him a wretched monster once again... Asterius would offer to forget, if it would be enough, but it would not be. He knew it would not be.

Asterius only hoped they could continue to fight together.

Carefully, he untangled Theseus’s arms from his thighs and stood.

“Would you stay?” Theseus murmured, voice a cracked little thing.

“I’ll only be a moment,” Asterius said softly.

He quietly stepped over to one of the weapons tables and pulled a waterskin and polishing cloth from the spread of supplies. If he was to care for Theseus in earnest - if he would allow such a thing - Asterius would much prefer to carry the king to the springs of Elysium and wash him clean in water worthy of his skin.

But Theseus would come to his senses before then.

“Drink.” Asterius knelt beside him and held out the waterskin. Theseus took it, gratefully downing a few sips before handing it back.

“Thank you, my friend,” Theseus rasped, voice still hoarse. Elysium’s magic would kick in some time later if he was truly hurt - though that fact did nothing to ease Asterius’ concern.

“Are you alright, king?” Asterius murmured. He spilled a thin stream of water onto the polishing cloth before handing it over to Theseus.

Theseus nodded and slowly wiped away the stains on his face and chest. They would both need a proper bath at some point, once Theseus felt up to walking. 

If something had broken between them, it would have been Asterius’ fault. It would have been his fault for crumbling so easily in the face of Theseus’ offer. It would have been his fault for gripping him so roughly then, like only a monster would. (He _was_ a monster, was he not?) It would have been his fault for losing himself to his own perverse desires…

“Gods above,” Theseus’ rough voice pierced the tense silence once more, “ _please_ tell me you’ll let me do that again sometime,” he said, laying his head on Asterius’ shoulder.

“You would… wish to?” Asterius snorted incredulously.

“ _Styx_ , Asterius, if I could make it any more clear, I would,” Theseus chuckled, turning Asterius’s snout to face him. “The only thing I might crave deeper is for you to spear me on that damned cock of yours. Not now - I hardly think I could take your _girth_ now, even given my unparalleled stamina.”

“My king,” Asterius choked, “To hear you say such things...”

“I’ll keep saying them then, if that’s what it takes for you to believe that I desire you, Asterius.” Theseus curled into his chest, sleepily tracing patterns over his collarbones. “I trust you enjoyed yourself? Thank you for indulging my… tastes.”

“I did.” Asterius gathered up Theseus’ discarded chiton and draped it across his back, shielding him from the cool air settling over them as Elysium came back into focus. “I will indulge anything you wish, if I am capable, Theseus.”

“And what do _you_ wish, my dearest companion?” Theseus whispered, leaning in conspiratorially. “How might I show you my own devotion?”

“You needn’t-”

“But I _wish_ it,” Theseus said, “I wish to indulge you, Asterius, in all the ways that I can.”

“I see.” Asterius’ voice wavered with even the simplest affirmation. 

“So, may I?” he asked, fingers dancing along the silver streaks littered across Asterius’ chest.

“Yes.” Asterius nuzzled into the curve of his neck. He let his broad palms rest over Theseus’ hips, nearly encircling his lithe waist. He was not delicate - gods no, his chest bulged with proof of that. But any warrior would look small in Asterius’ hands, even a king.

“So tell me - how would you have me?” Theseus kissed over the velvet of his ear. “Would you take me on my hands and knees like a proper whore? Perhaps you’d rather I ride you until my legs give out? Or… Would you have me serve you in other ways?”

Theseus’ hand slid between his legs, finding Asterius’ cock stirring with a renewed vigor - no doubt thanks to Elysium’s accelerated regeneration. The minotaur shivered. His touch would grow familiar over time, but now… For now, he was still learning. Learning to be half man, and to parse the freely-given pleasure that Theseus would so willingly shower him in.

“Ah, I sense my stamina returning at the very sight of you,” Theseus laughed, “Take me to the baths first, and then you simply _must_ tell me of your wants.”

Theseus broke away to shrug on his chiton, and Asterius to pull his skirt on and belt it properly. No doubt they would strip away their clothes again soon enough, but the walk to the bathhouse would be full of wandering shades, and Asterius had no desire to make the trip bare. 

Theseus rose to his feet, grinning with the very same air of confidence he wore in the arena. The unfiltered zeal that Asterius had grown to love over their years in Elysium. He offered the minotaur a hand.

“Come now, we’ve an eternity, Asterius! I think we’ve earned a bit of leisure.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on Twitter :)  
> [@hanatamagos](https://twitter.com/hanatamagos)


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